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Action of 28 September 1644
from Rhodes |result=Knights' victory |combatant1= |combatant2= |commander1= Boisbaudran |strength1= 6 galleysThe Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta, Dennis Angelo Castillo, page 89, 2006 |strength2= 10 shipsThe Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta, Dennis Angelo Castillo, page 89, 2006 |casualties1= 9 knights and 116 men killedThe Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta, Dennis Angelo Castillo, page 89, 2006 |casualties2= 220 killed The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta, Dennis Angelo Castillo, page 89, 2006 380 persons were capturedThe Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta, Dennis Angelo Castillo, page 89, 2006 1 galleon lostThe Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta, Dennis Angelo Castillo, page 89, 2006 }} '' of the naval battle between Maltese and Ottoman ships]] The Action of 28 September 1644 refers to a battle that took place on 28 September 1644 about from Rhodes, when six Maltese galleys under Boisbaudran defeated an Ottoman convoy of sailing ships. The battle The Maltese San Lorenzo, Santa Maria and Vittoria overhauled and attacked a Turkish galleon, while San Giuseppe and San Giovanni captured a smaller sailing ship and the "capitana" chased a vessel which turned out to be Greek, before returning to fight the galleon. After 7 hours, she was captured, with 220 of the 600 or more on board dead. Boisbaudran was killed, and the senior captain, Cotoner, of the San Lorenzo, took over command. Maltese casualties were 82 killed and 170 wounded, apart from their rowers. On the voyage home, there were several storms, and eventually the galleon was abandoned near Malta, and ended up wrecked on the Calabrian coast. Repercussions The Turkish convoy had been heading from Constantinople to Alexandria, and carried a number of pilgrims bound for Mecca, the exiled former Chief Black Eunuch, Sünbül Aga, as well as a woman, originally considered by her captors to be one of the wives of the Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim I, and her young son, who was therefore thought to be an heir to the Ottoman throne. This was eventually disputed, and many historians believe that she was a wife and/or a slave of Sünbül Aga and a former nurse of Mehmet IV.The history of the Turkish, or Ottoman Empire, from its foundation in 1300, to the peace of Belgrade in 1740, volume 3, Vincent Mignot, A. Hawkins, 1787. p. 97 Some history books say that her name was Zafira, and that her son, named Osman, was born on January 2, 1642 - almost three months earlier than Mehmet IV (making Osman the eldest son of Ibrahim I and the true heir to the throne).Troisième et dernière Encyclopédie théologique, Volume 59, Jacques-Paul Migne, 1863, p. 1029''Le grand dictionnaire historique ou le mélange curieux de l'histoire sacrée et profane'', Louis Moreri, 1725, p.718 Citizens of Manfredonia, Italy, believe that she was in fact a sultana – originally a girl by the name of Giacometta Beccarino, who was kidnapped from Manfredonia by Turks in 1620. (This practice was quite common among Ottoman rulers of the era; for example, the mother, the grandmother, the great-grandmother, and the first three wives of Ibrahim I were all of non-Turkish origin and were all sold to the harems of their respective husbands as slaves. However, unlike Giacometta Beccarino, they were typically sold to the harem at the age of 12 to 16 and would give birth to their first child by 17.) On the voyage home, the Maltese vessel carrying the loot stopped at Crete, then a Venetian dominion, where it took on board supplies and unloaded part of the treasure there. The Ottomans, already enraged at the loss of the ships, considered this act a breach of Venetian neutrality, and soon declared war on the Republic. The capture of "Sultan's wife and son" was widely publicized throughout Europe. Sünbül Aga was killed in the battle, and the woman reportedly died of stress or fright during the battle or soon thereafter (some sources give her date of death as January 6, 1646). The boy was raised on Malta for several years and eventually sent to a monastery, where he became known as "Father Ottoman" or "Padre Ottomano". Ships involved Knights of Malta *"Capitana" of Boisbaudran. *''San Lorenzo''. *''Santa Maria''. *''Vittoria''. *''San Giuseppe''. *''San Giovanni''. Ottomans *A galleon – captured, and later wrecked. *A smaller ship – captured. *Several other ships. References *''Naval wars in the Levant 1559–1853'' – R. C. Anderson ISBN 1-57898-538-2 Category:Conflicts in 1644 Category:Military history of the Mediterranean 1644 1644 Category:17th century in the Ottoman Empire